Stories of
American Heroes -
Brought to you from the "Home of Heroes" - Pueblo, Colorado

Super
HeroesAren't so Great!

A Guest Page by:Pam Sterner

Last
night, as I was relaxing with my children watching Superman on the
television, a thought occurred to me. "Super heroes really aren't
that great." I'll admit it's pretty impressive that they can leap
tall buildings in a single bound. Who wouldn't want to be able to fly?
I'll even acknowledge that having x-ray vision could come in handy from
time to time.

Though
it's fun to watch super heroes capture the bad guys and restore justice
to the world, as heroes, they don't do much to inspire us. I'm sure
every child, and maybe adult for that matter, fantasizes about being a
super hero and saving the world. Sooner or later, we come back to the
reality that we are not super heroes, so we simply sit around doing
nothing at all. It doesn't take long for us to become content in our
complacency. We remind ourselves that we would be heroes, if only we had
the attributes required to be heroes. Then, along comes someone who
challenges us, a person who, like us, is just an ordinary person but who
does something extraordinary and in a moment becomes a hero.

Ordinary
heroes come from many walks of life: policemen, firemen, nurses,
doctors, etc. Of all the heroes I have ever met, I think one group best
sums up what makes a hero. These men are heroes not because they had
great strength or powers; these men are heroes because they selflessly
gave of themselves. The thread that these men have in common is that
they all wear the Medal of Honor.

The Medal
of Honor is the highest award that a soldier can receive in the United
States military. To date, there are only 91 living Medal of Honor
recipients. In order to understand what makes these men the kind of
heroes that should be our role models for today; we must first examine
who they are and what they did. In order to pass the test for being a
good hero role model, the hero must be an ordinary person, one everyone
can identify with. The second requirement is that the hero must have
done something for someone else, with no thought for themselves. The
last requirement must be that the hero should inspire others to be
heroes also.

When it
comes to heroes who are ordinary people, Medal of Honor recipients are
the perfect example. They range in height from five feet two inches to
over six feet tall. They come from all ethnic backgrounds. Medal of
Honor Recipients come from all economic backgrounds, from the very poor
to wealthy. They were athletes, valedictorians, dropouts and nerds; and
some were even bullies. Everyone in the country can identify with at
least one of these recipients.

One example of the recipients' diverse backgrounds can be found in Silvestre
Herrera. Silvestre was living in Texas when he received his draft notice
telling him he was required to fight for his country. As soon as
Silvestre received his notice, he showed it to the man he called his father.
His "father" read it and told Silvestre that he did not have to go
and fight. "Why," asked the young son. Then his
father explained that Silvestre was not an American citizen. As the
story unraveled, Silvestre learned that he was actually a Mexican citizen.
His parents had died when he was young, so his uncle brought him to the United
States and raised him as his son. Silvestre knew that since he wasn't an
American citizen, he didn't have to go to war. He also knew that he had
lived in this country all his life and had enjoyed the freedoms that all
Americans enjoy. As he thought about his wife and young children, he
made the only decision that a hero could make; he wouldn't allow anyone to
take his place. Silvestre went to war.

During one very
intense battle of World War II when an enemy machine gun nest pinned down his platoon,
young Silvestre Herrera determined to take the initiative and knock out the enemy
position. Crossing a minefield between his platoon and the enemy guns, he stepped on
a mine and severed his foot. Silvestre stood as best he could and continued to make
his way towards the enemy when he stepped on another mine, severing the other foot.
Despite great pain, Silvestre continued firing at the machine gun nest, holding the enemy
off until help could arrive. For his brave actions he received the Medal of
Honor. Because he was born a Mexican citizen, Mexico also gave him its equivalent to
the Medal of Honor. Silvestre was so poor that when he got back to the United
States, he couldn't even call his wife to tell her that we was coming home. It seems
they lived in a very small house and couldn't afford a phone.

During one very intense battle of
World War II when an enemy machine gun nest pinned down his platoon, young
Silvestre Herrera determined to take the initiative and knock out the enemy
position. Crossing a minefield between his platoon and the enemy guns, he
stepped on a mine and severed his foot. Silvestre stood as best he could and
continued to make his way towards the enemy when he stepped on another mine,
severing the other foot. Despite great pain, Silvestre continued firing at the
machine gun nest, holding the enemy off until help could arrive. For his brave
actions he received the Medal of Honor. Because he was born a Mexican citizen,
Mexico also gave him its equivalent to the Medal of Honor. Silvestre was so
poor that when he got back to the United States, he couldn't even call his
wife to tell her that he was coming home. It seems they lived in a very small
house and couldn't afford a phone.

The Medal
of Honor can only be received for heroic acts during time of war, and
for this reason many people think of Medal of Honor Recipients as heroes
for some "Rambo" type of aggressive action. While this may be
true in some cases, it is also true that most Medal of Honor recipients
received their award not for killing the enemy, but for heroic actions
to defend and save the lives of fellow soldiers or civilians. Desmond
Doss is one excellent example of such heroic dedication to his fellow
man.

Desmond
was a Seventh Day Adventist who, because of his religion, didn't believe
in killing. He did, however, believe in serving his country. Desmond
entered World War II as a conscious objector. He became a medic so that
he could save lives. Most of the men in Desmond's
battalion made fun of him because of his religious beliefs. They thought
that his failure to carry a weapon was because he was a chicken. One day
Desmond proved them wrong. During a very intense battle at Okinawa, his
company advanced up an escarpment (a large cliff face). Soon they were
overpowered by the enemy and everyone in the company retreated to the
base of the escarpment. Everyone, that is except for Desmond, who
remained to treat the wounded. Men from his company kept shouting for
him to come down, but Desmond refused. Alone he treated the wounded,
dodging the bullets of the enemy. One-by-one he lowered the wounded down
the escarpment. That day he was credited with saving seventy-five lives,
for which he received the Medal of Honor.

Our
Country's few remaining Medal of Honor recipients are very patriotic
men, highly involved in their communities. They spend much of their time
visiting with and mentoring children. They tell young people a little
about themselves and, as they share stories of their own youth, the kids
in their audience soon realize they are a lot like this living hero.
Then, these Medal of Honor heroes challenge their audience to become
involved in their own communities. They remind the kids that heroes come
in all sizes, and that ONE person CAN make a difference. Children come
away from such talks with an enthusiasm that comes from knowing that
they themselves are special. They see that they can accomplish anything.

It's true
that most Medal of Honor Recipients don't posses any extraordinary
talents, powers, or strengths. Most of them are very frail now, since
the median age is more than 70 years old. Yet despite their frailty,
they possess an inner strength that can't be found in a television super
hero. Years ago there was a popular song, "We don't need another
hero." I disagree. We do need more heroes. We just need the kind of
heroes we can relate to, heroes who will inspire us to be heroes too.

Webmaster Note

Pam Sterner was a student at Pueblo (CO) Community
College when
she wrote this article for a mid-term English writing assignment. I felt this was a
great introduction as we begin opening some areas of the Wall of Honor at the Hall of
Heroes. You can meet these living heroes there, as well as at our "Profiles In
Courage" Site.

Pam with WWII MOH
recipient Richard Sorenson showing an award for Patriotism presented to her by members of
the Congressional Medal of Honor Society in 1995. (Click on image for larger photo.)

Pam presents the AMERICAN
PATRIOT AWARD to one of her own heroes, Congressman Scott Mcinnis (R-CO), as entertainer
WAYNE NEWTON looks on. (Click on image for larger photo.)

The portion of our Wall of
Honor Exhibit dedicated to America's Living Medal of Honor recipients is NOW OPEN.
Click on the icon at the right to visit this site